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The weekend came and went without a commitment attached to Friday's Under The Lights event for the Texas Longhorns, but that changed on Monday evening when Burton athlete Louis Brown tweeted out his commitment to the Horns:
JUST COMMITTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS #HOOK'EM. i will also shut down my recruiting process and finalize it
— ⭐⭐_LOUIE-B_⭐⭐ (@loulouking21) July 22, 2014
The consensus four-star prospect from the tiny Texas town of about 300 people just west of Brenham had committed to Baylor in early March before opening up his recruitment just a little more than three months later.
As his tweet indicates, he expects to shut down his recruitment at this time, which would presumably mean that he won't entertain the thought of visiting other schools.
Since he received his offer from Texas following his decommitment from Baylor, the Horns have been trending heavily in his 247Sports Crystal Ball.
Brown also held offers from Mississippi State, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Texas Tech, Utah State, and Washington.
The 6'6, 208-pounder is ranked as the No. 33 athlete nationally and the No. 49 player in the state of Texas in the 247Sports Composite rankings, which is good enough to rank as the No. 361 prospect overall. 247Sports is much higher on Brown than the rest of the industry, slotting him at No. 149 nationally, No. 16 among all athletes, and No. 15 in the state of Texas.
The big question now will be the future position for Brown -- he plays multiple positions for Burton and could project as a wide receiver, tight end, linebacker, or defensive end depending on how much weight he gains. On Friday he worked out at defensive end and then sent out this tweet following his pledge:
me and my bro @charless_94 will be unstoppable dipping off the edge no doubt #HOOK'EM
— ⭐⭐_LOUIE-B_⭐⭐ (@loulouking21) July 22, 2014
Brown spends some time at running back for Burton, but also makes plays on defense and on special teams.
With the ball in his hands, he has remarkable fluidity and lateral quickness for an athlete of his size, as he's capable of making sharp cuts to change direction and even has a spin move. When he approaches contact, he does an excellent job of consistently lowering his shoulder and getting behind his pads to pick up extra yardage, something that many tall running backs struggle to achieve.
One play defensively shows off Brown's instincts on that side of the ball, as he jumps a screen pass and returns it for a touchdown. in fact, a hybrid defensive end/outside linebacker position may be the best way to get Burton onto the field as he develops physically.
There's certainly no question that if he realizes his significant upside, he could become a rangy, disruptive player during his career.
For Texas, there's a chance that he could end up at tight end or in an inside receiver because of need -- the Horns should probably take two tight ends in this class since the current scholarship chart features only Blake Whiteley for the 2016 season.
With plenty of room to develop left in Brown's frame, he's a bit like a lot of the defensive backs that new head coach Charlie Strong has been offering -- there's a significant amount of physical upside left and he looks like the type of kid who should be an easy gainer in college.
Brown is the 12th commit in the 2015 recruiting class for Texas, which now ranks No. 17 nationally in the 247Sports Composite team rankings and No. 1 in the Big 12.